LAS VEGAS – Cat Zingano and Miesha Tate might not have been the first women in the octagon, but their collective effort is going to be tough to beat.

After two spirited rounds and a couple near-submissions by Tate, Zingano earned the top-contender spot with a third-round TKO. She used knees in the clinch and standing elbows to batter a dazed and bloodied Tate before referee Kim Winslow called a stop to the bout at thee 2:55 mark of the final frame.

The women’s bantamweight bout was part of the main card of The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. It aired on FX following prelims on FUEL TV and Facebook.

Things were looking good for Tate early on as she used superior striking and takedowns to put Zingano on the defensive in the first. But as Tate started to slow after several failed submission attempts in the second round, Zingano only appeared to get stronger.

Zingano wasted no time taking down Tate to start the third, and she then punished the former Strikeforce 135-pound champ with punches as she struggled back to her feet. No sooner did Tate get off the floor, however, than Zingano unleashed a brutal torrent of knee strikes that left her wobbled and wounded, before a desperate lunge signaled to Winslow that it was time to step in.

“To be honest, I looked up to Miesha since I started this sport,” Zingano said after the victory. “I was scared to death of her.”

Zingano will now move on to coach opposite UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey on the next season of “The Ultimate Fighter.” The two are then expected to meet in a UFC 135-pound title bout after the reality TV show competition concludes.

“It was amazing,” Zingano said. “I felt like I got woken up by the second round. I was still really surprised that I was here and that I was actually competing in the octagon. I was in a daze. I just thought about my son and thought about my mom and thought about everything I’ve done to get here in my life, and it’s exactly where I’m supposed to be. And it just got me started, it got me woken up. I wanted to finish this fight and I did. Today is my wrestling coach’s birthday, and I really wanted to make sure tonight was a complete package for him.”

The loss is the first for Tate (13-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) since having her arm injured en route to a submission defeat to Rousey in March 2012. Zingano (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) becomes the new No. 1 contender for the women’s bantamweight title with the win.

As the UFC 189 tour made its last stop in Dublin, featherweight champ Jose Aldo was met with a torrent of abuse from the Irish fans. It might have been unpleasant, but it might also have been just what he needed.